In my latest piece for psychology today, how to talk so you your husband will listen, and argue in a way that will strengthen your marriage, rather than sink it. Hope you will have a read...and leave a comment!
The August issue of Stepmom Magazine is live! In it you will find lots of helpful articles that address the topics that matter to you, including mine on the two most powerful words in a remarriage with children...Mary Kelly-Williams on grief in stepfamilies; Peggy Nolan on remarriage with kids and military deployment; as well as fantastic pieces by Joan Sarin, Susan Swanson, Susan Wisdom, and many other experts on repartnership with children. You'll have to subscribe to read the articles...but it's well worth the price. I know, it's really cheap of me to set you up this way.
The Council on Contemporary Families, a think tank on family life that I looooovvvveeeeeee, recently sent out a mailing all about fathers and Father's Day. As a lover of research-based insight (and trivia), I wanted to share. Happy Father's Day to the Dads and Stepdads reading. As a group you are more involved with your children and stepchildren than ever before, and making an unprecedented impact on not only your sons and daughters, but on the footprint of fathering more generally. You're changing the way your children will parent. I love you!
What’s a father? From anonymous sperm donors to highly involved hunter-gatherer fathers in pre-industrial tribes, to stepfathers, gay dads, and divorced dads, Kermyt Anderson and Peter Gray’s new tome on fatherhood (Fatherhood: Evolution and Human Paternal Behavior, Harvard University Press) covers all the bases and provides a uniquely comprehensive, truly comparative look at the topic.
Hope you will check out my most recent article for psychologytoday.com on partnership, love, and lust. What role do secrets and novel experiences play in keeping marriages alive?
There's been a lot of talk in the media recently about the "science" of a healthy, happy marriage. Based on the last decade of research, experts have identified some factors that put a marriage at risk for divorce. Have a look at my latest post for psychologytoday.com on the topic...and tell me about it: Have you ever considered divorce in your remarriage/repartnership with children? What changed your mind?
Today I'm running a special guest post by Mary Kelly-Williams, MA, a therapist and stepmother in Boulder, CO about boundaries. You need them if you're a woman with stepkids, but sometimes it's hard to know how to maintain them, how to assert them, for fear of being disliked or perceived as wicked. Here's Mary on how and why it's important to have your boundaries in the stepfamily, and protect them. Otherwise, you'll likely find yourself exhausted, depleted, and resentful. Have a read...and leave a comment!
As Valentine’s Day approaches, some recent, highly-publicized non-fiction debuts are sure to get you in the mood for romance: Staying True, by Jenny Sanford, chronicles the very public breakdown of her marriage to South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, who wasn’t hiking on the Appalachian Trail after all. Marry Him by Lori Gottlieb, the subtitle of which, the Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough, says it all, accuses you of being too picky and urges you to snap up that guy who’s an eight rather than waiting for the 10. And The Politician, Andrew Young’s explosive new tell-all about John Edwards, details his infidelity and exposes the second family he started as his wife struggled with cancer.
SPECIAL GUEST POST BY MARTY BABITS, LCSW, Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy
You said it and I hear you: you're worried (some of you are literally worried sick) about your marriage/partnership. Here's what you've said: